Ukraine's state-run nuclear power operator Energoatom criticized the IAEA on Tuesday for its plan to send a delegation to a Russian-occupied nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, saying that it "did not invite" such a visit.

"We consider this message from the head of the IAEA as another attempt to get to the (power plant) by any means in order to legitimize the presence of occupiers there and essentially condone all their actions," Energoatom declared via Telegram.